Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told an audience at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics on Wednesday that she did not join Congress for the money. She made this claim while sitting on an estimated net worth of $270 million as of early 2026, a fortune built during 37 years on Capitol Hill during which her wealth grew by at least 2,292%.

That's not a typo.

As reported by the Daily Caller, Pelosi touted that she was the highest-paid congressperson during her time as speaker, framing it as a milestone for women in government:

"At the time, I was too, the highest paid person on Capitol Hill. As a woman, that was a big deal. Not that I was there for the money."

The timing of this declaration is remarkable. It came just one day after President Donald Trump singled her out during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, calling on Congress to pass the "Stop Insider Trading Act" and making clear who he had in mind.

"They stood up for that. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Did Nancy Pelosi stand up — if she's here? Doubt it."

The numbers tell a different story

Whatever Pelosi says she came to Congress for, the returns have been extraordinary. Her stock portfolio grew 70.9% between December 29, 2023, and December 30, 2024. The S&P 500 returned 24.9% over the same period. That means Pelosi beat the benchmark index by nearly 200% in a single year.

She outperformed many of the world's largest hedge funds in 2024. These are firms that employ armies of Ivy League analysts, deploy proprietary algorithms, and spend billions on data infrastructure. Pelosi, a member of Congress with access to classified briefings, nonpublic legislative timelines, and advance knowledge of regulatory decisions, managed to beat them all.

Her office has denied suspicions that she participated in insider trading. No direct explanation has been offered for how a career politician consistently generates returns that would make Renaissance Technologies jealous.

A convenient conversion on stock trading bans

Pelosi's journey on the question of congressional stock trading is instructive. In 2021, she opposed a ban on stock trades for members of Congress. The free market applies to everyone, apparently, including those who write the rules the market operates under.

Then came the 2022 midterms, and suddenly, Pelosi changed her tune. She expressed support for Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley's legislation, the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act. The bill's acronym, fittingly, is the PELOSI Act. It is intended to prohibit congressional members and their families from trading stocks by March 2027.

The pattern is familiar. Oppose reform when it might cost you something. Embrace it once the political pressure becomes untenable and the portfolio is already locked in. Pelosi didn't come around on stock trading bans because of principle. She came around because the spotlight got too hot.

Trump keeps the pressure on

President Trump has not let the issue fade. On July 30, he said Pelosi should have been investigated for insider trading and accused her of exploiting privileged information for financial gain. His State of the Union address brought the matter to the largest possible stage, urging Congress to pass legislation that would ensure members cannot "corruptly profit from using insider information."

"Let's also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information."

This is a reform that has broad bipartisan support among voters, even if Congress has been slow to act on it. The fact that it took a president publicly shaming a former speaker to accelerate the conversation tells you everything about how seriously the political class takes self-regulation.

The real insult

The issue isn't that Pelosi is wealthy. Plenty of people enter Congress with money. The issue is the trajectory. A 2,292% increase in wealth over a congressional career doesn't happen by accident. It doesn't happen through index funds and patient compounding. It happens when someone has consistent access to information that the rest of the market doesn't.

And yet Pelosi stands before a university audience and assures us the money was incidental. She was the highest-paid person on Capitol Hill, and she wants credit for that. She was not there for the money, and she wants credit for that, too.

You can have one or the other. You cannot credibly claim both while sitting on a quarter of a billion dollars and a portfolio that humiliates Wall Street's best.

The PELOSI Act, if it passes, won't take effect until March 2027. That's a comfortable runway for anyone still making trades. And it's a fitting summary of how Washington reforms itself: slowly, reluctantly, and only after the people who benefited most have already collected.